Rise and Fall of Darkness
by TheaterQueen
Summary: Danger approaches the wizarding community, can the trio save the day? Please R/R!
1. Darkness Falls

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I repeat, I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! The character and all that appears in JK's series is property of J.K. Rowling. Some of these ideas and concepts are adapted and inspired on Cassandra Claire's Draco series.  
CHAPTER 1 "Darkness Falls"  
  
Harry Potter walked to the window of his bedroom at Number 4, Privet Drive, and stared down at the sleeping town below him. As always, his birthday had been ignored completely by the Dursleys...but you couldn't turn fifteen every day. Harry scanned the skies for some sign of an owl. For the last couple of years, Hermione and Ron, his best friends at Hogwarts, and usually his godfather Sirius, had sent him some kind of birthday greeting. But the skies were empty. He sat down on his bed again, sighing. He knew he shouldn't expect much, but it was always nice to have a present of some sort to prove that someone knew the significance of this day to him. Harry sighed again. He might as well go back to bed, owing to the fact that his birthday was being treated as if it were utterly nonexistent. As he dozed off, a strange vision overtook him. He saw his friends together, laughing at the Weasleys' house. Harry tried to call to them, but no one could hear his voice. He walked up to Ron and tapped his shoulder. Ron didn't even turn his head. Harry felt his heart burn with jealousy as Ron took Hermione's hand and pulled her to the garden to look at gnomes. He wanted to be there...have fun with his friends...bask out there in the sun-  
  
BANG. Harry jerked awake. He glanced at his window again and what he saw nearly made him scream. A dark figure was standing in the middle of his bedroom. "Happy birthday, Harry!" it said. "Sirius!" Harry replied, recognizing his godfather's voice at once. "Sirius--what are you doing here?" "I've come to take you to the Weasleys'. Dumbledore's orders. He believes that, for your own comfort, you should stay there--he knows what kind of riffraff these people are," Sirius said, gesturing at the room beside him, where Uncle Vernon coughed. "Wow, thanks, Sirius! I can't wait to get out of here!" "I'm just doing my duty," he said with a grin. In an instant, Harry and Sirius had Apparated, with Harry's magical equipment and Hedwig, his owl, into the Weasleys' garden. For Harry, it was almost a dream come true. He was where he wanted to be. "You'll stay here for the remainder of your vacation, and the Weasleys will see you safely to Hogwarts," Sirius said with a wave. "But-but..." Harry sputtered. "I don't think it's a very good idea for the Weasleys to see me here. With the exception of your friend Ron, they all still believe me to be a criminal on the loose," Sirius said, grinning again. "Okay..." Harry said, waving at the already vanishing Sirius. It was the start to a new summer.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Harry!!!" Hermione screamed, throwing herself on him, Ron grinning in the background. "Hey, 'Mione!" Harry said, equally happy to see his friend. Ron stepped forward. "Hey--don't I get any greetings?" he asked, jokingly. "Hey, Ron. It's good to see you." Harry made his voice go flat with sarcasm and rolled his eyes, just playing with Ron. After the salutations were complete, the threesome trouped back into the house. "Well, I guess you'd better put down your stuff," Ron noted, looking down at Harry's full hands. "Yeah...Let's go up to your room, okay?" Harry replied, relieved that he wouldn't have to carry his heavy trunk much longer. Ron seemed to read some of his thoughts. "Here, I'll carry that," he said, reaching for the trunk. "And I'll take Hedwig," Hermione interjected, grabbing the cage. "Thanks a lot, you guys," Harry said, grinning. It was so good to be with his friends again.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Harry looked at the enchanted ceiling of Hogwarts' Great Hall with enjoyment. It was like coming home again. But beside him, Hermione seemed to have other worries. Hermione had just received an unexpected owl. She paled as she read it. Carefully hiding her face and the note from Harry and Ron, both of whom were taking in the familiarity of the castle, she shoved the note into her pocket and took a few deep breaths. She had known...ever since this summer... Harry's sigh broke her thoughts. She looked over at him, concerned, but it had just been a sigh of happiness. There was no need to worry. Yet.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Harry and Ron weren't entirely unobservant. They knew something was wrong with Hermione. What they didn't know, thought, was WHAT was bothering her. "I'm really worried about 'Mione--she really doesn't seem like herself. And she's really pale: doesn't look well at all," a worried Harry told Ron one morning. "Mmm..." Ron said. Harry was annoyed because his friend didn't seem at all concerned about Hermione. Then again, Harry knew that Ron didn't care for Hermione as he did. But all the same, it was very important that they worm a confession out of her. But it wasn't until that night that they got the chance.  
  
Ron, tired, had gone to bed, but Hermione and Harry remained in the common room, even though it was getting late. Harry glanced over at his friend for a second and noticed that she seemed to be holding back--tears? "'Mione? What's wrong?" he asked her gently, prodding her shoulder.  
  
"Wh-what? Oh...n-nothing," she responded, not looking Harry in the face.  
  
"'Mione, don't worry...you can tell me," Harry urged, making her look into his eyes so she could see his sincerity. Hermione shuddered suddenly, and Harry tried to put his arm around her, but she shrank away. She had tried to hide this since the summer, but of course Harry would eventually figure it out. She began to speak, sighing. "It's just--Viktor. I went to see him this summer. And-well--I knew from the beginning that something was wrong. He was more secretive and - and weirder than he was at school, Harry. I should have known he was after you. All he said seemed to lead to a question about you, or was a veiled threat to me. He didn't waste time being cute or romantic anymore. The night before I left, he attacked me again. Harry, you have no idea. It was-horrible. I've never experienced anything like it. He used the Cruciatus Curse." Hermione leaned forward and took a deep breath, looking at the floor. "Viktor Krum is a Death Eater." For a moment, Harry let his mouth hang open in shock.  
  
"I thought he was okay..." he muttered. "I'm so sorry, 'Mione." He looked straight into her eyes and she could see the pain there. Her heart turned over and the next thing she knew, tears were coursing down her cheeks. She wasn't sure what she was crying for. Harry pulled her to him and she sat there, right in the common room, sobbing into Harry's shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he whispered again.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Later that night, thinking about what Hermione had just told him, Harry felt a hot sick swoop of anger running through him. Krum had tortured her. Remembering her bushy brown hair shaking slightly as she cried on his shoulder, he had half a mind to go right down to the Slytherin common room, take out his wand, and curse Krum until he could curse no more. "Now how did I know where he was?" Harry thought, but there was no time to answer the question. His scar burned suddenly on his forehead. Something was wrong, very wrong. "Ron!" he hissed through the darkness. "Ron, c'mere!"  
  
"'Smatter?" muttered Ron sleepily.  
  
"Ron, wake up! Come on!" Harry whispered fiercely, shaking Ron roughly.  
  
"Alright, I'm getting up. But this better be good." Both boys went down the staircase to the common room. "I knew it," Harry muttered. There was a muffled sort of screaming coming from the girls' dormitories and a high, cold voice shouting in the distance. A surge of bravery born out of his love for Hermione struck him.  
  
"I knew something like this was going to happen. C'mon, Ron, we gotta go help her." He started going up the girls' staircase. "Ron, move!" he hissed, irritation commencing out of his panic. Ron continued to stare behind Harry. The color drained from his face. "What is it, Ron? What's the matter?" Harry asked impatiently, turning back around.  
  
But as he did so, he saw quite clearly what was the matter. Lord Voldemort was standing on the steps behind him, his red eyes glinting in the half- light, his wand drawn. "Avada Kedavra!" Harry was blinded by the green light that burst from Voldemort's wand tip. He heard a faint rushing sound, then all went black.  
  
"Harry!" Ron cried out, rushing over to his friend, horror rising in his stomach. But then he realized that this was a very stupid thing to do, owing to the fact that Lord Voldemort was still standing over Harry, cackling over what he had just done. However, his call alerted the Dark Lord to his presence. He once again berated himself for being so stupid. But this was not the time for self- indulgence. He had to act--fast! "Stupefy!" he cried, just as Voldemort performed his deadly curse yet again. Ron knew he couldn't win this battle, Voldemort's power was too strong. Already he could see the red light from his own spell being sucked up in the green of Voldemort's. "Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy! Desaugeo! Rictusempra! Tarantallegra!" Ron yelled every spell that came to mind, all except the one he needed. Voldemort was just standing with his wand out, laughing his chilling cold laugh. Ron's spells had no effect on him: he was too powerful. Now panic was combining with the horror within his stomach. How was he to defeat the Dark Lord? Were these to be his last moments on the face of this Earth?  
  
But rescue came, to his relief. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, in Ron's opinion, the gossipiest airheads alive, were creeping silently down toward Voldemort's back. Despite his opinion of them, Ron was glad to see them. At least he wasn't the only one fighting now. Then the spell came to him. "Expelliarmus!" he yelled, remembering for an instant how the Disarming spell had worked for Harry the previous year. He noticed the Dark Lord was now--gone? Where had he disappeared to? Lavender and Parvati had Disarmed Voldemort exactly when he had, but that still didn't explain where Voldemort was. But there were more pressing issues at hand now. Parvati ran down the steps toward Harry. Ron did the same. "Look--his scar!" Parvati exclaimed in shock. The scar was behaving very strangely indeed. It glowed red, then green, then gold. Very slowly, as if unseen forces were pulling him, Harry began to sit. He didn't appear to be conscious, though. That was the troubling thing. Parvati now began to mutter strange words under her breath while flashes of color burst out of her wand. Ron stared in amazement. "What are you doing to him?" he wondered aloud. "Healing him. Remember, I'm taking Advanced Healing. Madam Pomfrey teaches that class." Ron was just about to ask another question, but Harry distracted them both. Harry's eyes were strangely out of focus, but they were open. When he spoke, he spoke in a language so unintelligible that it must have been Parseltongue. A flash of intuition and Ron suddenly understood. Voldemort had disappeared into Harry's scar.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Right. Now I'm guessing he needs to get to the hosptal wing. Maybe Madam Pomfrey can fix him completely."  
  
"Sure," Parvati replied, but looking dubious. Then she seemed to change her mind. "Alright, we'll come with you. Lavender--what are you doing?" Lavender was coming down the girls' stairs, lugging with her the pale, motionless form of Hermione. "Hermione!" Ron cried, his eyes going wide and his mouth dropping open. "What's he done to her?"  
  
"I don't know, but I can see enough to tell you it's beyond my abilities. We'll have to take her up to the hospital wing too," Parvati replied, conjuring stretchers from thin air. "OK. Let's go."  
  
But the night's surprises weren't over. No sooner had they gotten out of the portrait hole, Viktor Krum, flanked by Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle confronted them. "Hand over the girl. Ve are not finished vith her," Krum said, a low threat in his voice.  
  
Ron, snarling, took out his wand. "No." The four offenders whipped out their wands. Parvati and Lavender, who were supporting the stretchers, muttered to their wands and the stretchers stood alone. All seven of them were now armed. It looked as though another nasty wizard's duel was about to take place. But just then, Harry once again distracted them. He sat up again and stared unseeingly at them with his unfocused eyes.  
  
He spoke again, this time in English, but in a high, cold voice that Parvati, Lavender, and Ron knew only too well... "Do not fight. Do not waste your strength. It will be needed soon, perhaps sooner than you think."  
  
Krum and Malfoy slowly lowered their wands. They motioned to Crabbe and Goyle to do the same. Ron took charge. "So you're not going to fight us. Can we go now, then? Or are you going to block the corridor until the end of time?" The Death Eaters moved reluctantly to the side.  
  
"We're coming with you, Weasley," Malfoy called. "We're not fools enough to let you go on your own. I bet you'd go running straight to Dumbledore, now, wouldn't you?" The Death Eaters surrounded them. Krum walked at the front, Malfoy was stationed at the back, and Crabbe and Goyle closed in on the sides. How were Ron, Lavender, and Parvati supposed to get on their own? They could hex Krum. They could hex Crabbe and Goyle, since there were three of them. But what about Malfoy? Or maybe, Ron thought, we should get Krum, Crabbe, and Malfoy first because Goyle is too much of a stupid git to get what would be going on. But there was another problem too. Ron would need Parvati and Lavender's help to get all three at the same time. Quietly, Ron searched for a piece of parchment in his pocket. He pulled out a fragment, ignoring the message that already rested upon the sheet. Being careful to not let Malfoy notice, he took out his wand to write a note. But something about that message caught his eye. In the same neat even script he remembered, was a piece of Hermione's Defense Against the Dark Arts notes from the day before.  
  
"The Evadakaraian Curse-used only by Death Eaters, the Evadakaraian curse allows one to  
  
enter the body of another, draining the host's powers to become more powerful. The  
  
symptoms of this entering are unfocused eyes, a mysterious attitude  
  
Curse is possessing the forms of ot  
  
will have the same voice, personality, m basically a parasite that eats awa"  
  
The rest of the parchment was torn off. "That's what happened, then!" Ron thought. When Parvati, Lavender, and I Disarmed him, he must have performed the Evadakaraian Curse! He's definitely a Death Eater, Voldemort, and Harry's got all the symptoms! Something of his thoughts must have lingered on his face, because Parvati, who was walking next to him, gave him a questioning look. Carefully shielding his hand from Malfoy's view, he passed her Hermione's notes. Her eyes widened as she read, and she glanced at the stretcher she was supporting, holding Harry. But time was up. They were at the door of the hospital wing. Malfoy and Krum weren't stupid enough to not know that Dumbledore's presence was near. They left them at the doorway. Ron breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could further develop and discuss his plan. They opened the door. Lavender gasped in shock. Hundreds of students were lying on the beds, as unconcious as Hermione. Ron saw, at the very end of the room, that someone had the same symptoms as Harry.  
  
Cho Chang.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Ron went up to Madam Pomfrey, who was tending to a Hufflepuff fifth year. He tapped her shoulder. Madam Pomfrey turned around and sighed. "Another one? Well, bring them here. Oh dear, we're running out of beds." She conjured up ten more beds and magicked Harry and Hermione onto two of them. Suddenly she exploded. "What are they doing now?!?!? Last year, dragons, now, this year, this! Does this school ever have a normal year? I've never seen anything like this before! I'm not sure I'll be able to heal them!"  
  
"Calm yourself, Poppy. They will get better in time." Professor Dumbledore was speaking, although his voice was low and grave, as if he was trying to convince himself as well as Madam Pomfrey.  
  
Ron stared at the headmaster. He seemed to have aged ten years since the last time Ron had seen him, just yesterday. Ron wondered whether he knew what was going on. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Patil, Miss Brown--I would like to see you as soon as possible in my office. The password is 'Sugarcane Sickle'." With that, Dumbledore swept out of the hospital wing. Ron, Parvati, and Lavender stared at each other for a moment. "Well, I guess we'd better be going them," Lavender told Madam Pomfrey , with false cheer in her voice, as if they were going on vacation. She didn't even turn her head. A couple of minutes later, the three of them were sitting in Dumbledore's comfortable office. "What I am going to ask you to do tonight," the headmaster told them, "is very dangerous and requires great courage. The fate of al the students in the hospital wing falls on your shoulders." Dumbeldore paused and looked around at the three Gryffindors, letting his words sink in, his face older and wearier than ever. "You have all seen Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. You have seen what has happened. Mr. Weasley, I believe you know what has occurred tonight better than anyone else here." Dumbeldore invited him to explain with a wave of his hand.  
  
Ron began to speak. "Harry woke me up in the middle of the night," he said, his voice hushed and serious. "His scar was hurting him. We went over to the girls' dormitories. Hermione was screaming and You-Know-I mean, Voldemort was shouting back. We went up. About halfway on the stairs, I saw Voldemort coming down toward Harry. I tried to warn him, but my voice wouldn't cooperate." Ron paused to keep his voice from breaking now. "Harry turned around and asked me what was wrong. But I didn't have to explain. He turned back around and Voldemort did--did Avada Kedavra. It didn't kill him, though. He just blacked out. Still breathing. Parvati, Lavender, and I Disarmed Voldemort at the same time. And-and-" Ron faltered. He didn't know how to really put into words what had happened then. "Voldemort-Voldemort performed the Evadakaraian Curse, and went into Harry's scar. "  
  
Dumbledore nodded encouragingly. "Did the scar behave abnormally at all?" he asked.  
  
"How-how did you know? Yes, it did. It glowed red, then green, then gold."  
  
"Aha. The Combination Rebellion Effect," Dumbeldore muttered. Then he spoke in a normal voice. "Harry was powerful enough to resist Voldemort from draining his own powers. Voldemort undoubtedly put him under the Imperius Curse, but he fought it off. And the gold--the gold was the Refaratian Curse. You won't have heard of that before. It's very advanced magic, and requires great skill. It will put the victim into a sort of trance if done correctly. Tell me, did Harry speak at all?"  
  
"Yes. He spoke in Parseltongue. But later on, he spoke in regular English, but in Voldemort's voice." At this, Dumbeldore breathed in sharply. "What this means then, is that Voldemort has overpowered him. Only one Harry loves deeply can cure that. Can you think of anyone who he does?"  
  
Ron instantly thought of Hermione. "Hermione. But she's unconcious. Can she still help us?"  
  
Dumbledore's gaze shifted from Ron to the two girls. "You are both in Advanced Healing, are you not?" When they nodded assent, he continued. "Then this task is for you. Go to Miss Granger and Ghost-heal her. It is the only way."  
  
"But-but Ghost-Healing can be deadly!" Lavender shrieked. "What if something goes--wrong?"  
  
"That, Miss Brown, is a chance we have to take."  
  
*~*~*~  
  
After their meeting with Dumbledore, Ron, Parvati, and Lavender trudged back to the hospital wing. "Ghost-Heal her!" Parvati thought. "That's crazy. Half the times we've done it on the plants, they've died. Hermione was a little annoying and geeky sometimes, but I don't want her to die!" Next to her, Lavender was thinking basically the same thing. But Ron had other things on his mind. "There's something that doesn't fit. Why did Voldemort get Cho? Dumbledore said that it's possible to go into two bodies at once to get power, but why Cho? I would have thought Hermione, or me, even...someone a little closer to Harry. Probably Hermione because she's got loads of power too... Why Cho?"  
  
His question was soon to be answered. As soon as they had entered the hospital wing, they noticed that a small strand of smoke was coming out of Harry's scar, unnoticed by Madam Pomfrey, who was tending to Hermione now. Ron looked around for Cho, to see what was happening with her, now, and he saw the same sort of smoke coming out of a place just below her hairline. Ron inched closer. And what he saw made him gasp in shock.  
  
Cho Chang had a scar identical to Harry's.  
  
He pointed it out to Parvati. Her eyes grew wide as two Galleons when she saw it. "I know! I know what it is!" she breathed. "Harry wasn't the only one who escaped the Dark Lord that night. I know because-because my father was a Death Eater. He's not now," she added quickly, seeing the look on Ron's face. "But he was there the night Voldemort tried to kill the Potters. All the Death Eaters were. They all knew. The Changs lived right next door to the Potters. They were very good friends, especially Lily Potter and Vanessa Chang. Cho's current parents aren't really hers. Draco Malfoy's mother is her current mother and her current father-her current father is my father. When Cho's real parents were killed, the sympathetic Death Eaters shaved the parents' heads. They've been making Polyjuice Potion ever since. Cho has never really known her mother and father." Parvati's eyes were shining with tears and Ron was looking at her with interest. He had never seen this side of Parvati before. But-but...  
  
"But what does this have to do with anything?" he blurted out. "Why-OH! Voldemort wanted the powers of both his failed victims! Right?"  
  
"Exactly. When one sacrifices oneself, his or her powers are transferred to the one sacrificed for. Don't you remember in Defense Against the Dark Arts? And Voldemort must have Stunned or whatever he did to them, the ones that Cho and Harry loved. But-wait. There are only 12 people here. That can't be all. They give out love willingly and easily..." Parvati screwed up her brain for a moment, thinking hard. She looked over at Lavender who was now working on Ghost-Healing Hermione. "Ghost-Healing...that's when the healer transfers some of his or her soul to the victim. Of course! The other ones who have been touched by the Evadakaraian Curse weren't as strong...they didn't have their parents' powers! They must have been taken by Voldemort!" Ron's mouth was now fully open in horror. But before he could speak, another high, cold voice spoke up.  
  
"That's right, Patil. But you both know too much now. I will just have to get rid of you. Say goodbye to your lives...AVADA KEDAVRA!"  
  
*~*~*~  
  
At these words, Ron and Parvati ducked. They barely missed the curse, but they had missed it. Ron heard Parvati sigh with relief, but he knew they didn't have much time to spare. He lept up and called "Stupefy! Expelliarmus!" He hadn't really even looked at what he was attacking, but now that Voldemort was closer and Stunned for the moment, he could take a look. What he saw nearly made him scream.  
  
Voldemort was immortal. Ron could see that clearly...only the gods and goddesses who were immortal had that misty, smoky shield around him or her. Ron realized that the shield was made of the smoke that had come out of Harry and Cho's scars. Voldemort reawoke quickly: his shield prevented curses from hurting him too much. He stood up. Advancing on Ron and Parvati like a lion cornering a mouse, he drew out his wand again. "I see...bravery," he breathed, his voice mocking the last word. "I always value it. So, now, would you like to once again demonstrate your bravery in dueling with me? Or I can make it quick and clean...painless. Which do you prefer?" Ron knew too well what each choice meant. They all came down to the same answer. Death. It was staring them in the face. They didn't stand a chance against Voldemort, especially not with the combined powers of Harry, Cho, and Heaven knows who else.  
  
But before he could answer, Parvati shouted, "We'll take the duel." Ron looked furiously at Parvati, but she shot him a warning look out of the corner of her eye. She had her reasons for wanting a duel. But before he could think anymore, Voldemort clapped his hands. With a start, Ron realized that they were no longer in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. They were in a clearing, cold and eerie, with trees surrounding them, caging them. The Death Eaters were Apparating every few feet, encircling Voldemort, Parvati, and Ron in a wall of gray-black robes.  
  
Voldemort didn't even acknowledge their presence, he was busy smiling at Parvati and Ron in a way that told them the worst was soon to come. "Crucio!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Ron. Ron fell to the ground, twitching in pain.  
  
But Voldemort had ignored Parvati for too long. She cried, "Stupefy! Finite Incancatem!" And Ron's pain came to a stop. Voldemort's shield had completly fended off the Stunning spell, it seemed to have grown stronger and the spell ricocheted right off it again and chased after Parvati. She ducked, but smelled singed cloth. But after all, you couldn't Stun a hat, could you? No lasting harm done. Yet.  
  
Voldemort had raised his wand again. Parvati and Ron were ready. They knew what was coming: The Killing Curse. They caught each other's eyes and counted silently to themselves: 1-2-3! "Expelliarmus!" they roared in unison. Voldemort's wand flew in an arc and landed at their feet.  
  
But the Death Eaters were still armed and ready. They were closing in on the pair of them. Closer and closer. Their aura was so tangible that it seemed one could reach out and touch the evil in the air. Ron and Parvati knew they were done for. They couldn't possibly fend off that many people at once. "Avada Kedavra," the Death Eater closest to them breathed. Ron recognized that voice, through his foggy conciousness. But it wasn't true...couldn't be true... His sister, Ginny Weasley. 


	2. Bizarre Twists of Emotion

A/N: Well! So sorry it took so long to update.well, I suppose my only defense is my busy schedule! But I'll be updating soon.fear not. ;-) Please R/R!  
CHAPTER 2, "Bizarre Twists of Emotion"  
Back in the hospital wing, Lavender Brown breathed a sigh of relief. She had completed the difficult, complicated task of Ghost-Healing Hermione. As of right now, everything seemed to be going smoothly. She leaned back in her chair, resting her exhausted mind for a moment.  
This was a mistake.  
As Lavender dozed off, Hermione was not showing signs of getting well. In fact, she seemed to be doing the opposite. Instead of starting to breathe and open her eyes, she seemed to be shrinking. Like the smoke that had been pouring out of Harry and Cho's scars earlier, thin strands of fog began twisting themselves out of her face. Combined with her now red face, it made her look as if her head were on fire. Lavender, sensing that something was wrong, jerked herself awake. She screamed in horror when she saw Hermione. Panicking, she looked around for Madam Pomfrey. But the nurse was nowhere in sight. She looked for Parvati. Her friend was a much better healer than she was. But Parvati was gone. She started really panicking now. What was she to do? Hermione had only a few minutes. By instinct, Lavender knew that she had to undo the Ghost-Healing. Moving as quickly as possible, she took out her wand. She summoned up all the rest of her concentration and whispered the words under her breath. A Patronus- looking shadow whooshed out of her wand and covered Hermione. Good. Lavender knew she had the undoing process mastered.   
Soon enough, Hermione was looking just as unconscious as she was before. Now Lavender had to just figure out how to get her conscious again so she could work with Harry. She knew she would need some of the library's books. She remembered one extremely useful title. "The Expert's Guide to Healing". She summoned it towards her. i"Accio!"/i she cried. Within minutes, the hospital wing door had burst open and the book came soaring toward her. Lavender caught it and began feverishly turning the pages.   
It was near the back of the book that Lavender found what she needed.  
iOne who has been placed under a powerful Dark curse will remain unconscious forever if left to his or her own devices. Healers have a slim chance of bring them back to life. If you wish to do so, I wish you luck in your quest, but warn you it may not succeed. Ghost-Healing would have been the first option, but if that has failed, try this:  
1) Perform the Belitian Charm. This will cleanse the victim of stray Dark curses. It is merely used as a precaution to the Healer.  
2) Repeat the incantation for Ghost-Healing with the same wand movements as the Levitation Charm. If done correctly, your patient should start breathing.  
3) Reverse Spell Effect comes next. When done correctly, the victim will function in a normal way for a couple of hours./i  
Lavender took a couple deep breaths before starting. She'd never seen such a complicated Healing procedure. iAlright, here I go/i, she thought. She followed the directions in the book exactly and at the end, felt true relief wash over her. Hermione was now sitting up and asking Lavender questions.  
"Where's Harry? Where's Ron?"  
"I-I really don't know. You'll have to ask Dumbledore," the weary Lavender replied.  
*~*~*~  
Meanwhile, Ron was having an internal struggle. How had Ginny come to be a Death Eater? Had she just been hoodwinked by a Dark object like she had in her first year? OR was she here of her own free will? Ron was torn between wanting to curse Ginny and wanting to talk to her. She was his sister, after all. Then again, she was also a Death Eater. Ron was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized the meaning of what Ginny had said a few seconds before. But a flash of green light and a rushing sound jerked him our of his cogitation. He looked, horrified, at Parvati, and sure enough, she was flat on her back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead, just like the spider in fourth year. Ron's thoughts of talking to his sister and reasoning with her vanished. All he wanted to do now was to curse her, hurt her as badly as he could. She had killed another person. Just before Ginny raised her wand for the Curse again, Ron yelled, i"Stupefy!" /iGinny was now Stunned. Ron darted toward Voldemort, shooting random Stunners over his shoulder. Dodging curses, he faced Voldemort. This was his moment. Voldemort raised his wand. Ron was ready. i "Finite Incancatem!"/i he roared, before he even knew what he was doing.   
Voldemort had not expected this to happen. His red eyes widened in shock. The red light of Ron's spell was sucking up the green of Voldemort's. i "Reducto!" /iRon cried, on another impulse. He hadn't expected the Reductor Curse to get rid of Voldemort's shield completely, but it did enough. It gave Ron a path. i"Stupefy!"/i he shouted, fog blurring his eyes, hearing the soft ipop! /iof the disappearing Death Eaters, disappearing because their Lord was lifeless for the moment.   
*~*~*~  
Hermione stared sadly at Harry's motionless form. She loved him so much! She sat down in the empty chair by Harry's bed. She barely heard Lavender say she was going to try to find Madam Pomfrey. She reached out and held one of Harry's hands in both of hers. Stroked his face sorrowfully. Lying in front of her was the person she lived for. She loved Harry as she had never loved anyone else before, even Viktor Krum. She felt her eyes filling with tears for the second time this night. When they spilled out, she didn't even make an effort to stem the flow. She threw her arms around Harry's neck and sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder as she had so many hours before when all this had begun. "I love you, Harry, " she whispered, her voice straining from tears, fingers combing his silken hair. Then something miraculous happened.  
Harry pulled his arms around her and held her in an embrace both strong and frail. "And I'll always love you, 'Mione," he said. His voice was croaky too, but it was music to Hermione's ears.   
She shrieked with delight as she pulled away from him to study his face, her face breaking into the biggest grin she had ever known. Harry grinned back. There was no need to speak anymore. They each knew that they were both feeling the same things. Love, joy, and even a slight twinge of sorrow that sweetened their joy to the highest degree. Suddenly, they heard the sound of laughter. Not the scornful laugh they had heard too often that night, but a happy, resonant sound. Professor Dumbledore was standing in the doorway, with Madam Pomfrey and Lavender close behind. "The spell has been broken," he said simply. But Madam Pomfrey had other worries.  
"Where are Mr. Weasley and Miss Patil? Surely you two don't know?" Madam Pomfrey asked Hermione. The grins faded from faces all around the room.  
Harry and Hermione looked at Dumbledore in confusion. For nearly a quarter of an hour, only Dumbledore's voice rang out in the silent hospital wing as he explained.  
"Your friends Parvati and Ron apparently left this very wing to fight Voldemort. Their departure was unnoticed for a while. Only just now when Madam Pomfrey discovered that they were missing did she realize what had happened...and what we know must be done."  
Dumbledore's gaze shifted from Harry to Hermione and back again.  
"I dunno..." Harry murmured, already worried. He glanced at Hermione, who shook her head, frowning.  
"Then it is invaluable that we find them." Dumbledore's eyes were no longer twinkling and no smile rested on his grave face. "Do either of you have any idea where they might be?"  
Harry and Hermione shook their heads. But then a thought struck Harry. "I may have something...that might help." He looked over at Dumbledore, who nodded encouragingly. "It's a map of Hogwarts. It shows everyone on the Grounds, even if they're invisible." He summoned up all his remaining strength and said in a loud clear voice,i "Accio maurader's Map!"/i Once again, the hospital wing door burst open and a piece of parchment flew into the room. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good, " he muttered, tapping the map with his wand. As always, the map showed everyone and everything. Harry searched for Ron and Parvati. Then he saw them, at the very bottom corner of the map, deep within the Forbidden Forest.  
*~*~*~  
Harry pressed his eye closer to the Map in disbelief. How could Wormtail, Voldemort, and--wait. What was Ginny doing there? He knew she couldn't be fighting with Ron and Parvati, because she would have been with them to start with: she had no way of knowing exactly where they would be...unless...unless...  
A horrible comprehension dawned on him and he sat bolt upright. Just a glance at Hermione told him that she had also come to that same conclusion. "What?!" she shrieked suddenly, apparently to herself. "Impossible!" she whispered, as if she knew in her heart that it was true. Hadn't Ginny always been very conscientious about showing her lower arms? Hermione cringed. The idea was ludicrous,i Ginny Weasley, a Death Eater, honestly,/i but the evidence was piling up.  
"Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey said with a hint of impatience in her anxious voice, jolting them out of their thoughts. "Mr. Potter-have you found them yet? This is very important."  
"Yes. They are in the Forbidden Forest. Look-" Harry handed over the map.  
Dumbledore stared at the map for a moment. Everyone else in the room gazed at him with tension. "Yes. All right, then. Harry, Hermione-are you feeling up to finding your friends?" Dumbledore asked, piercing them with his clear blue stare.  
"Of course," Hermione said, her voice anxious. "We'd do anything for Ron."  
"Very well then. You and Harry are excused-"  
"But-but these children have been through too much! Headmaster, please! They need rest!" Madam Pomfrey exploded.  
"Poppy, it is very important that Ron and Parvati are found, immediately. Harry and Hermione are among the very bravest of people, and due to the fact that Parvati and Ron are their friends, I believe they should be given a chance." Dumbledore finished with a note of finality.  
"Let's go," Harry said to Hermione. He glanced at her. She was paler than usual but hse nodded determinedly.  
  
Harry nodded at Dumbledore, Lavender, and Madam Pomfrey. Dumbledore moved aside to let them pass, holding the Maurader's Map out to Harry as he walked by. Harry took it, his hand shaking sightly as he gripped it. Hermione placed her ice-cold hand on Harry's arm. They set off through the night.  
But little did they know what was in store for them.  
*~*~*~  
As they entered the forest, Hermione tightened her grip on Harry's arm, out of fear, this time, not for comfort. Harry pulled her close for a moment, saying, "It's gonna be okay, 'Mione, don't worry." He held the Maurader's Map to his face and stared at it, trying to make out where they were. He knew he couldn't light his wand in case someone was watching them uninvitedly. They were getting closer.closer.closer.they were there.  
Hermione screamed. Blood was everywhere. Bodies were piled on top of each other, horribly unconscious. The circle of trees around them made her feel like she was trapped in a dungeon. As she walked, her feet struck something solid. She looked down.  
It was Parvati. Hermione felt tears sting her eyes as she realized the girl had died just moments before. She had never really been fond of the girl, but to see her dead, just like that. She tried to tell Harry she'd found Parvati, but found her voice box obstructed. And she also noticed that Harry seemed to be having other difficulties.  
For Harry, it was bringing back memories of the night Lord Voldemort had returned. He had located his friend fairly quickly, but he, too, couldn't speak just yet. Memories of Cedric lying on the ground, dead, were blinding him. He swallowed hard a few times. The past was the past, but this was the future. He couldn't change the past, yet the future of these people lay in his hands. He had a duty to fulfill.  
Very slowly, he picked up Ron and motioned to Hermione to bring Parvati. He started to move toward a gap in the trees, when he noticed something strange.  
  
Instead of being on the ground, the Death Eaters had once again stationed themselves amongst the trees. Harry looked wildly around, only to see that they were trapped. Lord Voldemort was advancing slowly on them, smiling in a terrifyingly sinister way.  
  
"Harry Potter," he said. "We meet again."  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Pain. His very bones were on fire. He wanted it to end.forever.no matter the cost. There was screaming in the distance, but it sounded like an opera underwater.  
  
The pain was too much-he couldn't go on.  
Hermione screamed every spell that came to mind.even the ones she knew would fail. The Reductor Curse, the Stunning Spell, the Disarming.all to no avail. Below her was the only reason to keep fighting and living. If not for Harry, there would be no reason to live.  
Having finished with Mr. Potter for the present, Voldemort eyed Hermione with a certain disgust in his vile, red eyes. Before him was a filthy Mudblood. One who had the nerve to stand up to the Dark Lord. Well, he would show her, he vowed to himself, with a mirthless laugh. She was a loathsome Mudblood-a nothing to Lord Voldemort. He raised his wand, prepared to curse Hermione, but something distracted him.and Hermione as well.  
Fawkes the phoenix was gliding toward the pair of them. His song was unfamiliar to Hermione, but to her, it was as if it were a partner in this awful war. It told her what to do. It told her the consequences. It told her what to be prepared for. This time, it was she who raised her wand.she who performed curses upon the now silent Lord. Not much harm had been done, but it was enough. Enough for now.  
*~*~*~  
Dumbledore requested to meet with Harry and Hermione the next week. Although his face still had an aged look, he appeared to be much more energetic than he had been before. Mystified, Harry and Hermione went up to his office.  
"Good, good. You're on time," Dumbledore welcomed them before they'd even approached the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's headquarters. His cheerful grin was back in place and his eyes were once again twinkling. "I have good news--"  
But before he could continue, Cornelius Fudge stomped in and interrupted him. Harry and Hermione were thoroughly astounded at the expression on the Minister's face. He was angry as he had never been before. "Dumbledore, what is the meaning of this?" he said very slowly, making each syllable low and threatening. "A student has been killed. Do you not act? Do you not care? Shall we remove you from this school?"  
Dumbledore held up a hand, his eyes no longer twinkling. "Cornelius, I have done nothing but act. I care for nothing more than these students. But," Dumbledore gazed around at the halls, the castle, and Harry and Hermione, "if you wish me to leave, I will do so."  
"Good. Follow me, Dumbledore."   
  
The whole school was in shock. With Dumbledore now gone, fear and worry spread throughout the entire school, pulling at the mouths of the teachers and silencing the students. Voldemort was on the top of everyone's fears.   
"You know what we have to do, don't you?" Harry asked Hermione a couple days later. "We've got to bring him back some way. Make Fudge see some sense. We need Dumbledore here."  
Hermione nodded. She had been thinking for some time about this. It had to be done, but it was how they were going to do it that was going to be difficult. But Harry was speaking again. "What we need to do," he said, "Is bring Voldemort back."  
Hermione looked at him as if he had gone mad.  
~*~*~  
During the next week or so, Harry became brooding and quiet. Hermione knew he was thinking of the plan they had hatched together. After Harry had explained what he meant, it made perfect sense. It was crazy, perhaps, but correct: If Voldemort came back and threatened to attack again, the Ministry would see clearly that Dumbledore was needed to run the school.   
But there was one very serious problem. How were Harry and Hermione going to bring Voldemort back without fatally injuring themselves again? Voldemort's hating heart and greedy soul were sure to do the job of the attack, though. Hermione was the one who found the answer. "Harry," she whispered during a night meeting, "I know what we have to do. We have to bring Wormtail here. Wormtail is the only servant who doesn't have anywhere to go. Voldemort needs a servant to follow him around, and since he needs another Death Eater to call the others, he'd have no way of communicating in time. So--"Hermione paused. This was going to be very difficult. "So...Wormtail...Wormtail..." Hermione buried her hands in her hands, thinking hard. How could they get Wormtail to come here without telling him of their plan? "Wormtail--he'll have to just-wait. OH! Wormtail comes here. We tell him through a false owl, that Lucius Malfoy is in need of help here. Voldemort will undoubtedly try to blow up the school or something, so then the Ministry will have to act...and then, next thing we know, Dumbledore's back!" Hermione started to smile...  
It was now Harry's turn to stare at Hermione as if she were insane.  
"Hermione, you don't know what you're saying! Voldemort isn't stupid enough to come for Malfoy! Face it, he abandoned him! Wormtail--" Harry broke off, looking up at the ceiling on a sudden inspiration.  
"What is it?" Hermione asked with a note of panic in her voice. She knew from the look on Harry's face that this could be possibly fatal.  
Harry let out a long breath. "'Mione, if we can bring Wormtail here, that's enough. Dumbledore will be notified because Wormtail is Voldemort's primary caregiver. He'll come back, no problem! Think about it!"  
"So what's wrong? It sounds alright, to me, " Hermione said, starting to grin again.  
"Well...to bring Wormtail here...it's not going to be easy. Voldemort's not going to fall for something simple, and he's going to have to be the one who gives Wormtail consent to come. But--if we use Ginny, tell her we're here, make sure she knows what they can do to us, we've got a chance." Harry didn't dare look into Hermione's eyes. He knew that she knew what he meant. But before he could continue, Hermione had flung her arms around him.  
  
"Hermione...what--"  
  
"Shh," Hermione whispered, and looking down, Harry noticed that there were silent tears pouring down her face. "You can't, Harry! There must be another way!" she sobbed.  
  
Harry ran his fingers through her hair. "You DO want Dumbledore back, don't you, though?" he asked, forcing her to look up into his face to see the solemnity in his eyes.  
  
"Not if it's in exchange for you!" Hermione cried, hiding her head in her hands as she cried.  
  
*~*~*~  
Midnight moonlight streamed in through the window. Harry gazed up at the sky and sighed. He wished this didn't have to be his last night here. Despite Hermione's pleading for him to stay, he knew he had to go. Ginny had been told. iWell, he thought, better not waste time./i Slowly, he stood and took the note he'd written for Hermione from his bedside table. Going over all of his best memories of the castle, he walked down the steps of the boys' dormitories and up the stairs of the girls'. He took a sad last glance at Hermione's sleeping face, beautiful as an angel's in his eyes. The note gently fluttered from his hand onto her bed, right next to her hand. She wrapped her hand around it and smiled slightly, but still slept on.  
A sudden slithering noise brought Harry to his senses. Eyes and ears alert, he pinned himself to the wall and looked around for the source. His eyes lighted on a snake: a snake that he could strangely recognize as Nagini, Lord Voldemort's pet. Even more watchful, he walked toward the door swiftly and silently, hoping to detract Nagini's attention from the sleeping girls.  
  
But it wasn't Hermione Nagini was after.  
  
As he exited the dormitory, the snake followed. It called to him in Parseltounge,i "Harry Potter."/i  
  
Being careful to leave his back to nothing, he turned to face the snake, but didn't answer. i"Your beloved headmaster is with us. Come with me, come to us, and you will bring him back. You will be honored beyond even your wildest dreams. There is only one condition. We need the girl."/i  
  
"NO!" Harry cried, his breath coming in painfully fast. "Hermione can't be touched."  
  
Just then, though, Hermione came down the girls' steps. "Harry," she murmured, "Don't worry. It's already being done." She raised her face to the ceiling and breathed in deeply, squinting. "I can already feel it."  
  
*~*~*~  
  
There was something wrong with Hermione. Harry could sense it even though she looked entirely normal-the difference wasn't physical. It was mental, spiritual. Her usual sparkle was growing dim.  
  
Harry was at loss for ideas. Hermione would talk to him, but it wasn't her: it felt like another person was struggling to play Hermione-and doing a poor job at that. Preoccupied with his thoughts of Hermione in Potions class, he forgot to add an important ingredient-fluxweed extract-and consequently lost 20 points for Gryffindor, got a detention, and earned Hermione's dry, derisive laugh. Harry glumly stayed behind as the rest of the class trouped out noisily, chattering about the next Hogsmeade visit.  
  
"Mr. Potter," Snape said with a self-satisfied smirk. "Your detention will be to meet Mr. Filch here at 9:00 sharp this evening. He will further instruct you on your task. Now get out of my sight, Potter!"  
  
Harry turned blindly and walked out of the classroom into the deserted corridor beyond. His feet seemed to know where they were going and to his surprise, they led him to the Hospital Wing. Harry opened the door cautiously. He peered around and noticed that Ron had visitors. A fiery red-haired girl and another with slightly bushy brown hair.  
  
Eyes narrowed and brow furrowed, Harry thought, i"What are Ginny and Hermione doing here? Ron isn't even conscious again yet!"/i Creeping closer, he noticed that they seemed to be performing some kind of spell. He could hear Hermione's voice speaking. Edging even closer but still keeping in sight, he listened hard.  
  
"Blood of a Dragon, Head of a Mastodon, Listen to where your loyalties lie, Lest your life's time should suddenly die."  
  
And Ginny: "Heart of a Wolf's cub, Brain of a Tranofub, Look at all your prizes great, Just in exchange for your mate."  
  
Harry's mouth opened in shock. It sounded as if the girls were brainwashing him or something...Harry searched around in his mind for a reason. Well, Ginny. Ginny was a Death Eater, and Hermione was possibly under some spell of some sort. Nagini's nighttime visit came back to him- the whole reason he hadn't left. Something was definitely going on now, it was apparent, but what?  
  
The two girls suddenly got up and moved on to the next bed and Harry crept closer to Ron. What he saw made him gasp aloud.  
  
Ron showed the signs of a person who has just had a Dementor's Kiss. His eyes were open but unfocused and his mouth sagged open. Harry's throat grew painfully tight. His best friend was no more. Then a wave of anger hit him, giving him strength, giving him courage. Something had to be done.  
  
Harry cleared his throat, alerting the two girls to his presence. He saw, to his amazement, that the person in the next bed was Hermione. Blinking rapidly, he looked at the girl with the bushy brown hair. It was undoubtedly another Hermione. Mind roaring in confusion, he quickly staggered nearer for a closer look.  
The Hermione on the bed was the one he remembered. He had never seen anything as beautiful, or as sad, as her face, sleeping peacefully on the white pillow. There was no way he would allow her to become like Ron. The loss of one of his friends was just one too many.  
  
*~*~*~  
A/N: Whew! OK, I admit that that chapter was a tad bit hard to write. *wink wink* Anyway, please review! =) ~Tiff~ 


	3. Revelations

A/N: Well, here's Chapter 3. Not my best writing, I must caution you, but whatever.some of the information is crucial to the plot later. So anyway, review, please! Thank you to all my current reviewers! =)  
CHAPTER 3 "Revelations"  
  
Harry visited the hospital wing every day now. Ron's bed had been concealed by the white curtains. But Hermione's bed was open. Day by day, he would sit by her, gazing sadly into her blank face and wide glassy eyes. One stormy night, his expression was no different. Wondering where Madam Pomfrey was, he had a strong desire to heal her-right here, right now. But he couldn't-he had no idea what sort of condition she was in, but-  
  
CRASH.  
  
Harry looked up in shock. Professor Dumbledore was framed in the doorway, silhouetted for a moment in a blinding flash of lightening.  
  
"I have come," he said, " to ask a favor." He raised his hand and pointed his wand straight at Hermione. Bright red light filled the room and suddenly, Hermione was sitting up, looking, her face slightly surprised.  
  
"'Mione!" Harry cried, starting to hug her, but Dumbledore held up a hand.  
  
"I have come to ask a favor," he repeated, "And so-to business.  
  
You both know that Harry is related to Godric Gryffindor. But, in fact, you, Harry, are his last remaining heir. Gryffindor and Slytherin were friends at first, then deadly enemies. Their heirs have carried on their feud ever since. Your father and Lucius Malfoy before you. I presume you now know who Slytherin's heir is?" Dumbledore looked at them expectantly.  
  
A moment of silence. Then-  
  
"Malfoy," Hermione breathed. "But you said Voldemort was the last remaining heir!"  
  
"I was wrong.  
  
"But that is correct. It was Slytherin' nature to bring discord: his nature to dislike others better and different from himself."  
  
Harry broke in. "But what does this have to do with the favor?"  
  
"I'm getting there, Harry. It has come to my attention that Voldemort seems to gain courage and strength from enmity. Your task, Harry, is to resolve the feud. Please take this seriously, Harry, as the future of the magically community depends on this. But however-" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "I believe you need to learn more about your past and the past of those nearest you." He clapped his hands.  
  
The world as Harry and Hermione knew it dissolved.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
A beautiful town replaced the dreary wing they had just left. Birds chirped, streams chuckled, everything seemed to suggest the presence of spring, although that season was more than half a year away. Harry knew inside where he was. He didn't know how he knew, but he was quite sure he was correct. It was where his parents had lived and died. Godric's Hollow.  
Instinctively, he headed towards his former home, following a deep atavistic memory in his instinct.  
  
If Harry hadn't already known the house had been there, he would have just walked right past it. All that was left was a pile of rocks and half a wall. There was a strange hush around the area, as if nature were paying homage to Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, making it go very tight. This was where his parents had lived, where he himself had lived when he was young, the last place they had walked. Images of his father and mother's ghosts from last year reappeared. He was so caught up in these thoughts that he didn't even notice the other people standing there. But suddenly, his head snapped up. He had the funny prickling sensation he had when he was being watched. A shaft of flaming red hair and a knob of sleek silver caught his eye. His eyes narrowed. How dare two Death Eaters stand upon the remains of this house?  
  
"So I suppose Dumbledore's told you to watch your tongue, eh, Potter?" Draco Malfoy drawled, his familiar smirk firmly in place.  
  
Remembering Dumbledore's words about ending the feud, Harry held his tongue and just stared stonily back.  
  
Malfoy was still talking. "So you know where the amulets are? What about the sword? I suppose Dumbledore's told his favorite boy and his girlfriend the Mudblood everything."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy," Harry said, his voice calm and even.  
  
"You mean you don't KNOW? Dumbledore didn't tell his favorite boy what this is all ABOUT? Don't you know WHY you're here?" Malfoy's face was lit up with glee.  
  
Harry nodded. "So tell me, Malfoy," he said. It cost him every once of resolve to say that and keep his face straight, but he pulled it off. Malfoy was caught by surprise. He hadn't expected Potter to as like that, but his advantage was greater. So he began to speak.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
For Hermione, Godric's Hollow seemed the perfect place-hints of spring, peaceful tranquility. She kept looking around as she followed Harry and no0ticed that as they got closer to Harry's destination the tenser the air became.  
  
Nearer and nearer they went. Somehow, Hermione knew what was coming. She braced herself for what she might see, but gasped anyway.  
  
It wasn't the rubble that made her gasp. It was the people.  
  
As Malfoy stepped up to speak to Harry, she turned her attention to the other girl. Her hair was a long waving flame. Ginny Weasley.  
  
Hermione's gaze hardened as the girl came closer. Here was the girl who had killed Parvati, and undoubtedly many others. For a minute, the two just stared at each other. In that moment, Hermione noticed a necklace around Ginny's neck. So beautiful. But oddly terrifying. On a sudden impulse, her hand shot forward. Ginny's eyes widened. She thought Hermione was attacking her. But a moment later, it was just the necklace that Hermione hurled to the ground. She looked up.  
  
The change in Ginny was like a new day breaking. Her eyes cleared and regained their fiery sparkle, like a river in the sun. Even her hair seemed to bounce more playfully. When the girl stretched up, her sleeves fell back. Hermione glanced at Ginny's right forearm. There was nothing there. The Death Eater was a Death Eater no more.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"So let me get this straight, Malfoy." Harry pushed his bangs back and stopped pacing right in front of Malfoy. "We're all heirs. I'm Gryffindor's, you're Slytherin's, Hermione's Ravenclaw, and Ginny Hufflepuff. Each of us has our own special amulet to help us find the Sword, which will restore all good once it does what it was meant to do. Correct so far?"  
  
Malfoy nodded. "The Sword signifies the time that all four founders coexisted in harmony. It can only be reached through all four collaboration-maybe the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons heirs are needed too, but it isn't certain."  
  
"Right, and we're the first heirs to be in the same year, same school which facilitates our ability to reach the-wait, why did you tell me all this? Aren't you supposed to hate me?"  
  
Malfoy looked surprised. "I've always liked you, Potter," he said finally, making Harry snort derisively.  
  
"You sure didn't act like it!"  
  
"Well, there was that one time, in first year, when you and I had a little- quarrel, so to speak, about Weasley's family-I really WAS mad at you for that. Being the person I am, I told the entire house, and when I was over it, I was in too deep to really get out. So I just had to act."  
  
"You pretended you hated me for 4 years," he said in a 'yeah, right' sort of voice.  
  
Malfoy shrugged. "Well, there was always the reason that old daddy was hanging around and would have me beheaded if I thought otherwise."  
  
Harry sighed. He still wasn't quite sure if he fully believed Malfoy, but-  
  
"Harry! Harry!" It was Hermione, running up, cheeks flushed with happiness, Ginny at her heels. "Harry! Look!" Hermione held up Ginny's right arm. "Death Eater-no more-all gone!"  
  
Harry grinned. This must be a first-Hermione not being able to string two words together! Then his grin faded. He turned to Malfoy. "Then again, there's the fact that you're a Death Eater."  
  
Malfory shrugged again. "Not now that the contract is broken," he said, holding up his plain arm.  
  
"What contract?" Harry asked without thinking.  
  
"Oh, God, why did I bring this up?" Malfoy thought, eyes closed. Then he opened his silver eyes. "Potter, when someone becomes a Death Eater, he or she has to sacrifice something for Lord Voldemort. My father gave me, and my services. But now he's dead." Malfoy's face was impossible to read.  
  
There was a moment of silence. Everyone seemed to be at a loss for words. Finally, Ginny spoke.  
"Your father's dead? I'm so sorry, Draco." Ginny put her hand on Malfoy's arm and looked sadly into his flashing gray eyes.  
  
"Draco? Did you just call me DRACO?!?!?!" Malfoy looked incredulously at Ginny. "Nobody real's called me that since I was a baby." He looked almost wistful for a moment.  
  
"Do you prefer Malfoy?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No, Draco's fine," he said. "For all of you. It's like coming back home again."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ginny persisted.  
  
Draco sighed. "So here goes-my life's story.  
  
My father and I never had a very friendly relationship. He was the controller-he ruled by force. Even so, I worked hard to please him and respected him. That is, until one day, one day when my life changed completely." Draco fell silent for a moment, working up the courage to say what he had to say next.  
  
"Now don't be offended, Potter. I knew your parents. I-I loved them as I had never loved anyone else since. They were like my real parents. I looked to them when I wanted advice, them when I needed comfort. Especially your mother, Potter. She was the best person I've ever known." Draco swallowed, trying to will himself to keep going.  
  
"I was there the night they died, Potter. All the Death Eaters were, too. My father forced me to go. I didn't know what would happen yet, so I went, mainly because my father said it would strengthen my character." Draco sighed and looked Harry straight in the eyes for the first time. "I was only a year and a half old, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Then again, wizards mature so much faster than Muggles anyway, so that might not be surprising. Anyway, when your mother sacrificed herself, I was crying. I never cry. That was the last time thus far. What your mother did, Potter, was braver and more giving than you can even imagine. Pure love. She gave up her life for you. You can't ask for anything more, Potter.  
  
That night, I learned to hate. I may have been little more than a year old, but the emotions I felt were stronger and more complete than what Voldemort feels. He only thinks of power, that's his problem. Anyway, I hated my father that night. I hated him for his heartlessness, for his ability to rejoice when your parents were dead. The Death Eaters didn't realize Voldemort had lost all his powers until a while later, the stupid gits. But that night, I realized what an evil person my father was. If he even was a person. I resisted him from then on, for as long as I can remember. I resisted, he punished me. You think you've got scars, Potter? Take a look at these." He took off his shirt and turned so they could see his back.  
  
The group gasped in shock. Long, deep gashes cut into the fair skin. Ugly bruises dotted his back. This must have been torture to acquire and live through.  
  
"What about your mother? Didn't she know about this?" Ginny asked.  
  
"My mother is weak. Gullible. She believes everything she is told," Draco said in a mixture of disgust and sorrow.  
  
When Draco was back facing them again, Harry took a deep breath.  
  
"Mal-Draco, I-I honestly don't know what to say, really. I've always been known for my bravery and courage, but-" Harry shook his head. "All of that should belong to you."  
  
Hermione stepped forward, eyes full of sadness, face portraying her compassion. "I really don't know what to say either, but I do think you need a hug." She held out her arms and to her surprise, Draco took the offer, his embrace fierce and full of pain. The other two joined, and the four Heirs stood, entwined upon the remains of what two of them had once called home.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
In the hospital wing back in Hogwarts, Dumbledore smiled into his Pensieve. He looked over at the black dog beside him.  
The dog seemed to be very content and at peace. It kept grinning and gazing into the Pensieve. "Old Voldie's been thwarted before," it thought. "And it may happen again."  
*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Once again, a major thank-you to all the kind, kind reviewers! Please R/R! =) 


	4. Fighting Back

CHAPTER 4 "Fighting Back"  
  
Over the next few weeks, the Heirs got closer.closer than biological siblings. The feud was fully over. It actually reversed. Instead of being deadly enemies, Harry and Draco were now the very best of friends.  
  
They met weekly in Godric's Hollow, sitting on the remains of the Potters' house. One such meeting they sat solemn and silent, lost in their own thoughts, until Harry voiced something the others had been wondering about for some time.  
  
"I don't mean to pry, Draco, but how do you know your father's dead? The Ministry hasn't let on that even they know.he's still listed as Fudge's 7th advisor!"  
  
Draco sighed. "Potter, do you believe in Hell?"  
  
Taken aback by the question, Harry stuttered, "Well, I-I believe in Heaven, so I suppose there must be an opposite place as well.why?"  
  
As if he hadn't heard Harry's response, Draco continued. "There are demons in Hell. You all know Voldemort's trying to recruit anything and everything to be on his side. Dementors. Giants. The demons watch over all those sinners fit to go to Hell. They're ferocious, fearsome, but docile at first sight. The venom they can carry is deadly. No antidote. And their powers of coercion are stronger than any Imperius Curse." At this, Draco's face closed off like curtains dropping over a window. His voice flattened out. "Voldemont sent my father off to Call them. To Call them up from Hell. Tricky business. My father started about a week ago. As with any Calling, his soul went down, leaving the body behind to carry out its regular duties until the soul returned."  
  
"But then your father may still be alive. How could he have broken the contract?" Hermione interjected.  
  
"Listen, Granger. My father is dead-you should have seen his room a while ago. OR maybe you shouldn't've." Draco's voice painted Lucius' room as it had looked that night.  
  
Violently red hangings at the one window, small and high, not enough to let any light or joy in. Candlelight flickering sinisterly off the dead-black wall. Unintelligible words spelled out on the chalk-white floor, horribly red. Written in blood. His blood. Heavy silence and fragments of a lost soul hanging in the eerie stillness of the air.  
  
"That night was horrible. My mother entered the room and sunk into a dead faint. I almost did as well. Me, Draco Malfoy, who doesn't cry or faint." An odd sort of shiver passed briefly on the handsome face, leaving a deadened, haunted look in his eyes.  
  
The three listeners stared at Draco in silence. The difference in his face after the telling of his story was startling. He looked older, more wearied. Lines creased the space between his fair eyebrows. Even his hair seemed to lose some of its vivacious vitality.  
  
Draco's gaze shifted from Harry to Hermione and back again. One pair of sorrowful bright green flames and one set of teary warm brown eyes looked back at him. For some unknown reason, it cheered him up to see the compassion in their eyes.  
  
Ginny was next. Draco's eyes wandered over to her, not expecting much, but it was the unexpected that he saw.  
  
Ginny's eyes were full of bald adoration, like a lover's upon her crush. "Whoa.girl.calm yourself there," Draco thought, disoriented. What upset him was that it was apparent Ginny had no interest in what he had been saying. Sure, it was his father. But his father was worse than idead/i. Even if he wasn't a very nice person, he still didn't deserve that. No one did. It was a most horrible fate. But what did she know? She was a iWeasley/i.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"In light of recent events," rang Dumbledore's voice, "it is my belief that this school needs some cheering up. Am I wrong in surmising that a school dance is in order?"  
  
The whole school started yelling excitedly at that. Dumbledore smiled and waited for quiet.  
  
"Safety precautions have been taken to the fullest extent," he assured them. "We have done all in our power to insure that this dance will be nothing but an event of pleasure and safety. It will take place on Friday the 3rd of October." Piece said, Dumbledore sat and was immediately engaged in conversation with Professor McGonagall.  
  
Harry and Hermione's eyes locked together. They were going. Seeing this, Draco turned away. And seeing that, Ginny set up for her first move.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
iHe and the others followed, their tired eyes glinting in the half-light. They didn't want to go, but the other option was death.  
  
"Shit.maybe even death's better than this," he thought, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his red hair.  
  
But the group trudged on. Little did they know what was in store for them and who was watching them at that precise moment./i  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Amazing how this silent school can become a hellhole of giggles, isn't it?" Draco rolled his eyes at Harry, nodding in the direction of all the congregated Slytherin girls, all of whom were currently arguing on who would get the cutest dance partner. "You mention the word 'dance' and the whole place explodes!"  
  
Harry grinned. "Too true. Giggling should be made illegal," he said, remembering his embarrassment in fourth year." Unconsciously, his eyes wandered once again to the other side of the room where a certain brown- haired Gryffindor female was quietly absorbed in her studies for O.W.L.s. "Now, if people could be more like her I might consider.," he joked, winking at Draco.  
  
He didn't notice Draco's subtle change of expression. But it was so subtle that it wasn't any wonder. Draco cleared his throat and quickly put on a cheerful mask.  
  
"So you and Hermione are going, right?"  
  
"Yeah.I guess so," Harry said, a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes. He had become quite the dreamer ever since Dumbledore's announcement.  
  
"Who d'you think I should go with? Should I go at all?"  
  
That brought Harry back to earth. "Of course you should go!" he exclaimed. "And you could have practically any girl in the school if you wanted to!"  
  
Draco didn't say anything to that. "One thing certain, though, I'm NOT going with Pansy. She is such a slut."  
  
"Err.okay," Harry replied. Then he laughed. "I never imagined I'd hear that coming from you! I mean, number one foremost Slytherin at this school calling his Slytherin girlfriend a slut?!"  
  
"She was inot/i my girlfriend. I swear, she wasn't. It was her and her little group of friends who stirred up that rumor." He rolled his eyes. "Trust them to come up with something like that."  
  
"You took her to the Yule Ball.."  
  
".Because she asked me to. I figured I wouldn't go, then she comes up and asks me, so I was just 'oh, what the heck'. So I went."  
  
"I see. Kind of the same for me, only I had to go. Well, it was either that or have it all over the school that Harry Potter was scared of girls."  
  
Draco smirked. "I bet you were, back then. You and Weasley. I saw you all freaking out over choosing a girl."  
  
"Oh, be quiet, Malfoy. Or I'll be sure to tell Pansy that you love her to death."  
  
"Fuck you, Potter," he said swatting Harry's shoulder jokingly. "As if you would ever do that!"  
  
"Sure I would. Mark my words.one more sound out of your mouth."  
  
"But after all, you're scared of girls."  
  
"Malfoy!" Harry exclaimed, and Malfoy took off, running all the way to the courtyard.across it.and in the meantime scaring half a million owls out of the trees.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Ginny walked over to Hermione, who was engrossed in her studies. "iTypical/i," Ginny thought.  
  
Hermione heard her footsteps and raised her head as Ginny came closer. "Hi, Ginny. What're you up to?"  
  
"Oh.nothing much. Wanna play chess?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Ginny got out Ron's old chess set, with its figures charmed to flash different colors.  
  
"Ginny! Did you do that?"  
  
"Of course I did," Ginny said, smiling to herself. She knew Hermione would be impressed.  
  
The game began.  
  
While Ginny was making her move, Hermione's eyes wandered over to the two boys chasing each other round and round in a circle like birds or butterflies or something. She grinned. They were so cute.  
  
"Hermione?" It was her turn.  
  
"Knight to E3," she responded, taking one of Ginny's bishops. She looked back at the boys. They were out of breath now, and just talking again. It was funny how boys never thought of themselves as gossiping "like girls", but they did it all the same. It was apparent. And it was cute.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Soft music filtered around the entire school.. girls dressed in fancy evening gowns, giggling as they waited for their partners.this is the scene that met Harry's eyes as he stepped out of his dormitory.  
  
Like magic, his eyes zoomed directly to Hermione. Just like at the Yule Ball, her hair was all sleek and shiny.but this time curled around her shoulders, framing her face with lovely light brown velvet curtains, bringing out the color in her eyes. She was wearing dark forest green dress robes, made of a satin-y sort of material. It was simple, but it accented her natural beauty and made her look like a princess. Her sparkling eyes danced over to him, and her smile was dazzling, so that Harry couldn't help but grin in return.  
  
They left together, the green of their two robes blending pleasantly against the red and gold décor of the Gryffindor common room.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
The Great Hall was fabulous, everything soft and beautiful. Hermione was lovely. Harry was handsome. Heads turned as they walked by, radiant with pleasure. But they weren't the only ones being watched.  
  
Draco Malfoy had turned up for this as well. He was dressed in black, which made his silver-blond hair gleam like precious metals. Very dashing- looking. Eh.he was watching them. Of course he was watching them.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Through all joy, there is always sorrow. And through all sorrow, there is joy. He trudged on and on, wondering where they'd come out, mouth dry, stomach a bottomless pit of hunger. His only consolation was that his cousin was beside him. They had accidentally found each other in the dark, then recognized each other as Ron and Melinda. If she could do it, so could he. Or so he thought.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
He could see her eyeing him, so out of courtesy, he asked her. He also just wanted to get rid of her for a while.  
  
Ginny was happy. Incredibly happy. He hadn't even known that anyone could get that happy over a stupid dance. But whatever. He wasn't paying attention anyway.  
  
He spent the dance with his eyes glued on Harry and Hermione, in the middle of the dance floor. "I thought Harry didn't dance," he thought sourly.  
  
But then a sickening thought occurred to him. He was jealous. JEALOUS. Jealous of a guy who had to live through hell on Earth and beyond. Who had no parents. Who had horrors in his past others could only imagine. He, Draco Malfoy. Jealous of Harry Potter.  
  
Horrified, he shook Ginny off with a lame excuse of having to go to the restroom. He didn't want her waiting for him, so he said he was just going to go to bed after that due to a severe headache. Ginny was worried, but Draco just brushed her off with so much anger that she lay off. He just wanted to be alone.  
  
But he didn't go to the bathroom. He went outside. He wanted to kick the crap out of something right now, right there.  
  
A reckless sort of anger and frustration came over him and he stood there, white and shaking with his eyes turning to cold steel and mouth firm, as if it were chiseled out of granite. He hated them both at that moment.  
  
There was a big rosebush in front of him. He swung his foot back, ready to aim low and uproot the bush.  
  
But he stopped. For both Harry and Hermione, which he had hated so painfully seconds before, a warm, friendly love surfaced. They were his friends. And Harry! He was the best friend Draco had ever had in all his 15 years. Crabbe and Goyle didn't count-a fingernail had more brains then they. But Draco had actually been jealous of him! He sighed. He was a fallible human being, what could he say. He headed to the boy's dorm.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
The song ended. And on cue, a faster song was struck up.  
  
Harry and Hermione left the floor and went outside. It was lovely-the weather just right; a light breeze playing with their hair, the moon's light beaming down on them, its face full and bright.  
  
They sat on a stone bench, looking up at the sky.  
  
Harry's hand found Hermione's. In it he pressed a necklace, silver, thin, and intricately engraved.  
  
"Listen, will you take this?" he asked.  
  
"What is it?" she opened her hand. "My gosh!" she breathed. "A Myrathic! Wherever did you get it? They're supposed to be really rare. And why are you giving it to me? You should keep it for yourself-you're in more danger than me as of right now!"  
  
Harry laughed. Typical Hermione, spouting questions so fast a cheetah couldn't answer them. "Well, firstly, I made it. And as for why I'm giving it to you..you're in danger too. This is a time where Voldemort is back. No one is safe, really."  
  
"But you're in more danger than me! Keep it for yourself.that way you're safe."  
  
"Look. Voldemort is going to try to hurt me in any way possible--"  
  
Hermione threw up a hand. "As I've been trying to tell you! You're in much more danger than me!"  
  
"No, wait a minute. Like I said, Voldemort is going to try to hurt me in any way possible. He doesn't care if he hurts anyone else in the process. And so, I've been thinking, 'What if he went for you?' I don't think I could stand that. And seeing you in pain would hurt me more than anyone can imagine. Just do it for me, okay?"  
  
Hermione blushed. She sighed as she looked down at the little necklace Harry had just given her. "All right. I'll wear it.for you. But you still haven't told me how you got it."  
  
"I told you, I made it!"  
  
Hermione looked skeptical. "How could you have made it? Only a selected few can even get a hold of one!"  
  
"Well, you know that in Charms we were talking about amulets, right?"  
  
"Erm.yeah.oh, I think I see what you're getting at."  
  
".and I was looking in a textbook and saw a picture and a description of a Myrathic."  
  
".and you decided to ask Professor McGonagall to borrow a small chain for a Charms experiment?"  
  
"Right in one. I thought I might as well do it properly, or else you wouldn't approve of it and you might not wear it." With that, Harry stood up and grinned down at Hermione, offering her one of his hands. "It's the last dance, Hermione."  
  
Taking it, Hermione replied, "Harry, we haven't got time to go inside now!"  
  
"Do we need to?" Harry's arms snaked around her waist, and taking the hint, Hermione softly laid hers around his neck.  
  
They gazed into each other's eyes, the tension high in the air. Hermione's hand found its way to his face and stroked it, the girl smiling faintly but happily as she did so.  
  
The song ended. One could hear Dumbledore giving the routine speech thanking them for a great time, etc. But Harry and Hermione were still outside.  
  
The tension was too much for Harry. He swallowed hard.then.leaned forward.  
  
"Hey, you guys gonna snog the whole night away?" The teasing voice shattered the peace as a redheaded girl came running up to them. "Hermione, I've been looking for you! Have you been outside this whole time?"  
  
They broke apart suddenly, giving each other guilty glances.  
  
"Ginny! It's late, honey.what are you doing out here at this time of night?" Hermione asked, snapping back to reality.  
  
"I should ask the same of you," came the indignant reply. "I need help on my Potions homework."  
  
"What's it on?"  
  
"Well, we're going to be making Shrinking Solutions, as we've been studying them for the past.what.decade? And we're supposed to write up an analysis of the reactions of rat spleen to acidic wormwood-"  
  
BANG.  
  
"Err.what was that?" Ginny asked, whirling around.  
  
BANG.  
  
"What's going on?!"  
  
BANG.  
  
"Harry! Hermione! Where are you?!?"  
  
BANG.  
  
She was all alone. 


End file.
